AP News Summary at 1:17 am EDT

In campaign swing, Biden focuses on incumbent Democrats

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s travel itinerary for his last big campaign swing before the midterm elections reveals his defensive stance in the campaign’s closing days. He’s spending the bulk of the waning days of the campaign trying to hang on to seats that his party already holds. Biden is kicking off a four-state, three-day campaign swing on Thursday to support Democrats in competitive races in solidly blue California, Illinois and New Mexico as well as battleground Pennsylvania, where Biden has deep roots. He’s campaigning on Thursday in Albuquerque with New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham before heading to southern California to stump for San Diego-area Rep. Mike Levin.

North Korea keeps up its missile barrage with launch of ICBM

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has added to its barrage of recent weapons tests, firing at least three missiles including an intercontinental ballistic missile that forced the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts and temporarily halt trains. The launches on Thursday were the latest in a series of North Korean weapons tests in recent months that have raised tensions in the region. They came a day after Pyongyang fired more than 20 missiles, the most it has fired in a single day ever. The Japanese government initially said at least one of the missiles flew over its northern territory but later revised its assessment, saying there were no overflies.

Analysis: North Korea fired dozens of missiles. What now?

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — For days North Korean officials have raged over US-South Korean military drills, promising a violent response. That response finally came this week, when the North fired nearly 30 missiles in a span of two days. One splashed down only 26 kilometers from the South Korean sea border. It was a significant escalation in a year that has already seen the most North Korean missile test launches ever. It raises important questions: How much further will they go? And what would even more escalation mean?

Powell: Rate hikes may be slow, but inflation fights hardly over

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sought to strike a delicate balance at a moment when high inflation is bedeviling the nation’s economy and commanding a central role in the midterm elections. Powell suggested that the Fed may decide in coming months to slow its aggressive interest rate increases. Yet he also made it clear that the Fed isn’t even close to declaring victory in its fight to curb an inflation rate that is near four-decade highs. The Fed pumped up its key rate by a substantial three-quarters of a point for a fourth straight time. It was the sixth rate hike this year — a streak that has made mortgages and other consumer and business loans increasingly expensive.

Army probes whether troops wrongly targeted in bonus scandal

WASHINGTON (AP) — US officials say Army investigators have launched a broad review of at least 1,900 National Guard and Reserve soldiers who were swept up in a recruiting bonus scandal up to a decade ago. Investigators are seeking to correct the records of individuals who were wrongly blamed and punished. Officials say the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division will review all the cases and fix the mistakes. They say agents at the time may have misunderstood facts or failed to follow proper procedures and erroneously added soldiers’ names to an FBI crime database and Pentagon records. Officials discussed with The Associated Press details of the sample not yet public on condition of anonymity.

Javier, Astros pitch 2nd no-hitter in World Series history

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cristian Javier and Houston’s bullpen combined on just the second no-hitter in World Series history, silencing a booming lineup and boisterous ballpark as the Astros blanked the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0 Wednesday night to even the matchup at two games each . The only previous no-hitter in the World Series was a perfect game by Don Larsen of the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956. Javier and three relievers weren’t perfect, but they were close. Plus, they’d done this before: Javier, the starter in a combined no-hitter against the New York Yankees in June, was pulled with a no-hitter in progress after six innings and 97 pitches this time.

Nevada ACLU requests probe into alleged partisan hand-count

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The ACLU of Nevada has asked the state’s secretary of state to investigate what it called a “coordinated partisan election administration effort” during a rural county’s hand-count of mail-in ballots that was shut down last week. The ACLU said Wednesday a hand-count volunteer openly carrying a firearm removed an ACLU observer from a hand-count tally room last week. It said it recently discovered the armed volunteer was vice chair of the Nye County GOP Central Committee. The ACLU said the situation “poses questions” surrounding the Nye County interim clerk’s delegation of authority to partisan officials to remove observers, particularly during a hand-count process that deals with ballot tabulations.

Going to win $1.2B Powerball prize? Consider not taking cash

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Think you’re a sure bet to win an estimated $1.2 billion Powerball jackpot? If so, you need to decide whether to take cash, which would actually pay out $596.7 million, or choose the $1.2 billion annuity option that is twice as large but is paid out over 29 years. The numbers drawn Wednesday night were: 2, 11, 22, 35, 60 and the red powerball 23. Winners of giant jackpots nearly always take the cash, and financial advisors say that might be a mistake. Nicholas Bunio, a certified financial planner from Downingtown, Pennsylvania, said that even with his expertise, he would take an annuity because it would so dramatically reduce his risk of making an investment mistake.

With Bolsonaro tamed in defeat, Brazil steps back from brink

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s apparent acknowledgment of his electoral defeat may have helped avert political chaos. Still, he has not directly conceded the race and is not discouraging die-hard supporters who have staged protests across the country and asked the military to step in and keep him in power. Meanwhile, leftist President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is facing considerable challenges. The 77-year-old former union boss will need to right a wobbly economy and confront still-formidable conservative forces in many states and Congress.